At UVA graduation, Ajai- Lycett seeks art for advocacy, social change
THE second edition of Unchained Vibes Africa ( UVA) training programme ended recently with 11 of the graduands participating virtually.
The programme is aimed at strengthening artists’ capacity and sharpening their skills in the use of art for advocacy and social change. Drawn from music, film, literature, visual arts, animation, theatre and other creative arts, the young artists were from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria.
The best graduating participant, Tijani Usman ( a. k. a TJ Webstar), got N500,000 as project fund. His creation was a 2D animated song visualiser that tells compelling stories of resilient and artists leveraging their music to seek justice in Plateau State.
The second best participant, Shekwoyemi Kure ( aka Love Kure), produced a series of satirical ‘ mockumentary’, a musical project aimed at eliciting dialogues and actions among citizens with project funds of N400,000.
The third price went to Aminu Mukhtar Nasara who got N300,000. His short film tells the inspiring story of his ( Aminu Nasara) ordeal as a filmmaker leveraging the power of storytelling to address sex education and girls’ rights.
However, Isah Mik’ailisah, who took the fourth position, but with no proposal submitted, did not get anything, as his proposal money had to go to the fifth position earned by Abdulbasit Abubakar with the production of a spoken word video that advocates for social justice and good governance.
Each participant satisfied the minimum requirements of attendance, the academy task, active engagements of the academy themes and submission of a viable project proposal.
Addressing the graduates, actor and culture advocate, Dame Taiwo Ajai- Lycett, who was the guest of honour, said, “our job commands a following and we owe them the responsibility to be role models. I think that what freedom vibes academy is doing is to get us back to bases.”
While urging the academy to keep standard high, said the situation is too dire to allow for mediocrity. “We want to establish professionalism as the essence of what you are doing.”
She said art is not an all comers affair and should not be a case where people think because they can’t study other courses that’s why they are in the arts, “that has to stop, it is an insult to demuse ourselves, because artists are special breed, they have been kissed by the gods, so, whoever has the privilege must have corresponding responsibility and we are not delivering that responsibility to the privilege of being chosen,” she said.
Executive Director, UVA, Ayodele Ganiu, said approximately 100 applications were received but very few women applied. She said entries were dominated by candidates from Southern Nigeria.
“This necessitated extension of application deadline and encouragement of more applicants from the north and women.
“Thirty candidates were shortlisted and interviewed virtually. Taking into consideration the need for inclusiveness and diversity, gender equity and regional representation, 16 candidates were selected to participate in the Academy. They comprised young artists in the fields of music, film, literature, visual arts, animation, theatre and others.”
According to Ganiu, “in January 2023, the 16 artists were brought together for a three- day inperson training workshop in Lagos where they met and interacted with renowned and accomplished veteran artists, human rights lawyers, civil society organisation leaders, experts in cultural policies who were facilitators. The facilitators shared their knowledge and experiences on techniques and best practices in leveraging the power of art for positive social change.
“Over the course of one year, the participants remotely benefited from virtual mentoring sessions with other accomplished veterans in the local and international creative and cultural sectors, including the UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights.”